Nintendo 64 Games Now Feature Rollback Netcode for Enhanced Online Play

There have been several official versions of Smash Bros. over the years, but many players still hold a special place in their hearts for the original Nintendo 64 release. For those looking to dive into some competitive Super Smash Bros. action today, the options were previously limited to either hauling a Nintendo 64 to a friend’s house or dealing with the frustrating delay-based netcode of emulators.

Fortunately, a new option has emerged: RMG-K, a modified version of the original RMG Nintendo 64 emulator, which just received a v0.9.4 update on May 14. This update not only enables rollback netcode for Super Smash Bros. but also for any multiplayer Nintendo 64 game, and the results are nothing short of impressive.

You might be wondering why this matters. Fighting games can be a real headache with standard delay-based netcode. While this type of netcode might be manageable for many competitive games, in fighting games, where a mere two frames can mean the difference between landing a hit or suffering a lengthy combo, it simply doesn’t cut it.

Rollback netcode, however, is a game changer. Having played fighting games since childhood, I’m still amazed by how it works. Rollback netcode predicts the most likely input in a given situation and, as the name suggests, rolls back to a previous frame if it miscalculates. This results in incredibly smooth gameplay, even without a wired connection.

The rollback update for RMG-K was developed alongside the original creator of the RMG fork on GitHub, Jay-Day, but the standout contributor appears to be NyxTheShield. You might recognize NyxTheShield from their well-known work as a composer, contributing to the popular Undertale fan series Glitchtale and Underverse. Even if you haven’t seen those series, you’ve likely heard their catchy tracks.

It turns out they’re also a talented coder, which isn’t too surprising given the overlap between Undertale mega-fans and coding enthusiasts.

Interestingly, while the RMG-K page claims that rollback netcode is enabled for all Nintendo 64 games, it’s been tough to confirm its effectiveness across the board since most players seem focused on testing it with Super Smash Bros. That said, I did spot someone in the SSB 64 Discord mentioning that it works well with Mario Tennis, so that’s a positive sign.